“I’m really sure that all the other members, and hopefully also the United States, are ready to continue with the support to Ukraine,” Kallas said on her way to the Ramstein gathering. “The European Union is also ready to take over this leadership if the United States is not willing to,” she added.
“It’s difficult to predict what happens now,” said Guntram Wolff, an economist and senior fellow at the Brussels-based Bruegel think tank, adding the Ramstein meet “has been a useful format for coordinating military support to Ukraine.”
While some wanted to roll the platform into NATO, this is complicated because it includes many non-alliance members such as Japan.
“Of course, the anchor of the format has been the biggest military power,” said Wolff. “A lot depends on what the U.S. wants to make out of it now.”
As Kyiv braces for what happens under a Trump-led America, it’s hoping its defense coalitions with individual countries will become a substitute.
“We indeed have many defense coalitions here, such as the drone coalition, the artillery coalition, the air defense coalition, so the coalitions will remain,” a senior Ukrainian official familiar with negotiations told POLITICO on Thursday. “Whether the format will continue — we will see after the inauguration.”
